The Curtain Falls in the Darkness
is the nineteenth episode of the Nurarihyon no Mago anime. Summary Inugami explains his past life of desperately trying to assimilate with human society. His attempts had always failed, as everyone around him always alienated him. Although he was born a Yōkai, he wasn’t even aware of it. That is, until the day he met Inugamigyōbu Tamazuki. In the present at the old Ukiyoe Middle School building, Inugami manages to break free of Aotabō and Kurotabō’s grasp. Inugami’s head transforms into a dog’s head, which flies off his neck and lunges at Rikuo. Meanwhile, the girls of the Kiyojūji Paranormal Investigation Squad are trying to run out of the building with a group of Yōkai chasing after them. Yura stops to attempt to eliminate them. She summons Rentei, transforms it into a cannon attached on her arm, then launches Yura MAX, a beam that manages to pierce through the Yōkai. Although some of the Yōkai have been eliminated, even more come after the girls. In the projection room, Shima manages to replace the light bulb and have the projector working again. Just as Kiyotsugu and Shima leave to go back into the lecture hall to try to find Yōkai, with Kiyotsugu waving up his Seven-Branched Sword of Exorcism, the projector stops working yet again. In the lecture hall, Yuki Onna manages to push Rikuo over to avoid Inugami’s head. Inugami tries to lunge his head again at Rikuo, while Yuki Onna tries to protect him. Just as Inugami’s head is about to approach Rikuo, Kubinashi manages to wrap it around his thread. Inugami struggles to break free. In another flashback, Inugami continues to explain his past. He learns that the Yōkai have a society much like the Humans. Surrounding Inugami with his henchmen, Tamazuki asks Inugami to join him. With his arms tied behind his back and kneeling on the floor, Inugami asks Tamazuki why he has to go through this. In the presence of Muchi and Kagibari Onna, Tamazuki explains that he wants to see how powerful he is. Inugami denies being strong, to which Tamazuki offers him to die, claiming a weak Yōkai will only be despised by Humans. Traumatized by his past, Inugami summons his strength and lets his head fly off his body for the first time. After Inugami eliminated Tamazuki’s henchmen, Tamazuki approaches him, amazed by his brute strength. He explains that his hatred of Humans will fuel it. In the sunshine, Tamazuki tells Inugami to follow him to show him the new world of Yōkai. Recalling his past, Inugami explains that Tamazuki is stronger than Rikuo, and that while Tamazuki managed to rule both the Yōkai and the Humans, Rikuo is only guarded by the Yōkai and bothered by the Humans. Again, he tries to lunge for Rikuo, but Kubinashi still manages to restrain him effectively. Rikuo starts to feel sorry for Inugami, as he believes Tamazuki had tricked him into believing Yōkai stand above Humans. As Inugami denies this, Inugami’s body begins to rumble. At the Ukiyoe Town skyscraper with the rest of the Seven Phantom Travelers, Tamazuki feels Inugami’s strength awakened. As Inugami refuses to acknowledges Rikuo’s existence of being liked by everyone, Inugami’s head grows and finally manages to break free of Kubinashi’s threads, sending him flying into the wall. Inugami’s body grows and transforms, breaking free of Aotabō’s restraints. Shima and Kiyotsugu are still unable to get the projector working. Upon hearing a ruckus outside in the lecture hall, Kiyotsugu tells Shima to investigate the noise while he fixes the projector himself. Shima is stunned at Kiyotsugu, but obliges and leaves the projection room. Outside, Shima notices the lecture hall screen now torn. Upon looking through the tear, he sees Inugami’s gigantic leg and becomes alarmed. He crawls his way back towards the projection room to warn Kiyotsugu of the Yōkai he saw. Meanwhile, in the lecture hall, Inugami grows himself so large, his body breaks open the ceiling. Yuki Onna protects Rikuo and Kejōrō from the falling concrete with her powers. Inugami re-attaches his head into his body. Kiyotsugu is now trapped inside the projection room with some of the fallen debris blocking his door out. Shima is unharmed and tries to make his way over to the door to free Kiyotsugu, but he falls onto some of the debris and gets himself stuck. The Nura Clan Yōkai try to protect Rikuo, but Inugami manages to defeat them all. He knocks Kurotabō into a wall and sends Aotabō crashing through another wall, hitting a tree outside and knocking it down. Yuki Onna tells Rikuo to leave while she gets herself knocked out with Kejōrō into the walls. Kubinashi gets knocked into the screen, sending his head flying towards Shima to horrify him. Kiyotsugu is still struggling to open the door. Rikuo is now the last one standing in front of Inugami. Inugami picks him up as the sun sets over Ukiyoe Town. He takes Rikuo and slams him behind a curtain, causing a splash of blood. The Nura Clan Yōkai recover to find Inugami laughing at finally killing Rikuo. Suddenly, he notices his own arm bleeding. With a few cherry blossoms flying around, Rikuo reveals himself behind the curtains, now transformed into his Yōkai form and carrying a sword. Proclaiming the curtains fall as the darkness ensues, he tells Inugami to get off the stage. Inugami tries to lunge at him, but Rikuo manages to avoid him and slash his forehead and body. Inugami, still refusing to accept Rikuo, leaps out of the lecture hall while Rikuo follows him. Kiyotsugu finally manages to break the projection room door open to find Shima lying in the debris. Shima tells Kiyotsugu of Yōkai in the lecture hall, to which Kiyotsugu brings his sword out. The sword breaks in half. Stunned, Kiyotsugu leaves Shima to find the lecture hall empty. Again, Kiyotsugu becomes shocked. The girls of the Squad finally manage to leave the old school building. Kana and Yura spot Inugami leaping over the nearby highway overpass, with Rikuo following him. Having caught up with Inugami at Ukiyoe Middle School, Rikuo tells him to stop running off. Inugami takes a swipe at Rikuo, to which Rikuo climbs onto Inugami and slices his body even more. Crying in pain, Inugami knocks Rikuo over with his tail. Rikuo bleeds, but praises Inugami. Inugami takes a swipe at Rikuo again, to which Rikuo leaps into the air and strikes Inugami’s head from above, causing him to fall over and transform back into his human-like form. Tamazuki and the rest of Rikuo’s Yōkai friends arrive. Inugami claims to Tamazuki that he hasn’t lost yet, to which Tamazuki stops him, not wanting Inugami to die. Tamazuki notices Rikuo in his Yōkai form and promises not to bother the Humans anymore. Rikuo asks Tamazuki what he is trying to do, to which Tamazuki reminds Rikuo again that he will steal all of his Osore and stand above all the Yōkai. As Tamazuki and Inugami disappear from Rikuo and friends, Tamazuki claims that the next time he meets Rikuo, he will end his life. Next episode preview Gozumaru tells Mezumaru to buy yet another book, My Beloved Nura Clan. Gozumaru notes that Gyūki published this book at his own expense. Mezumaru bets that the book isn’t selling well. Characters in order of appearance Category:Episodes